BRAD WHITFORD Biography - Musicians

 
 

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BRAD WHITFORD

Name: Brad Whitford                                                                     
Birth name: Bradley Ernest Whitford                                                     
Born: 23 February 1952                                                                   
                                                                                         
Brad Whitford (born Bradley Ernest Whitford, 23 February 1952, in Winchester,           
Massachusetts,) is a musician and guitarist for the hard rock band Aerosmith.           
                                                                                         
After attending the Berklee College of Music, Whitford joined Aerosmith in 1971,         
replacing original guitarist Ray Tabano. Aerosmith would go on to be one of the         
most successful bands of the 1970s. However, following a string of less                 
successful albums in the late 1970s, Whitford left the band in 1981 to work on           
his own project with singer Derek St. Holmes, simply called Whitford/St. Holmes.         
The project was soon dissolved, following the disappointing sales of their first         
(and last), eponymous album.                                                             
                                                                                         
Whitford briefly toured with The Joe Perry Project, featuring former Aerosmith           
band mate Joe Perry, before both Perry and Whitford rejoined Aerosmith in 1984.         
In the mid-late 1980s, all band members completed drug rehabilitation, including         
Whitford, who completed programs to combat his alcohol abuse. Whitford remains           
sober to this day and continues to be an active force in Aerosmith.                     
                                                                                         
Whitford also served as a producer for a well-known Boston band, The                     
Neighborhoods, who were led by a rabid Aerosmith fan, David Minehan. When, in           
1994, Whitford was forced to leave unexpectedly in the middle of an Asian tour           
due to family illness, Minehan was flown to Japan where he performed in Whitford's       
place for several days until Whitford returned.                                         
                                                                                         
While Joe Perry is Aerosmith's more popular guitarist and more prolific                 
songwriter, Whitford has made significant contributions to the band's repertoire         
over the years. This includes writing (and playing lead guitar on) Aerosmith's           
hit "Last Child" as well as some of Aerosmith's heaviest tracks: "Nobody's Fault"       
and "Round and Round", and playing lead guitar on "Back in the Saddle" (on which         
Perry plays six string bass) and on the ballads "You See Me Crying" and "Home           
Tonight". When Aerosmith made their big comeback in the late 1980s, Whitford             
continued to co-write tracks such as "Permanent Vacation" and "Voodoo Medicine           
Man", and still plays lead guitar on some songs to this day.                             
                                                                                         
Brad's soloing is the smoother and more refined counterpart to Joe Perry's hard-edged   
raunch; for example Brad relies heavily on versatile Floyd Rose guitars, while           
Perry loyally sports the hard rock trademark Gibson Les Paul. Whitford's heavy           
compositions, playing style and characteristic smooth and nasal guitar sound             
have also been a big influence on Guns N' Roses guitar hero Slash among others.         
                                                                                         
Said Aerosmith lead singer Steven Tyler of the two, "Joe is self-taught and his         
playing comes from raw emotion. Not that Brad's doesn't, but his style is more           
schooled."